Legacy of the Dark Sage

Before the Material Gathering event began, there was a commotion at the Royal Army's tower.

A trumpet sounded, and then a loud voice reverberated, saying, "Salute, the Ylfaen Empire's Emperor and Empress, have arrived."

Upon hearing the announcement, Kyran and the rest turned toward the Royal Army's tower.

The rest of the people in every tower did the same.

A platform was built at the tower's center, where two high chairs were placed.

Kyran watched as the Emperor, wearing a red royal robe, assisted a woman who appeared to be wearing a similarly red royal robe. The woman had a dark shade of brown hair compared to the Emperor, and from a distance, one could not fully determine the color of her eyes, but Kyran could tell her eyes were not blue.

Kyran's brow furrowed as a thought surfaced in his mind. It was a random thought he once had when he was on a plane named Alveah while completing training. At that time, his training's purpose was all about Rune application, and that plane had a vast number of records on different Rune languages and applications.

As always, with every plane he went to, he got mixed up with that plane's problem.

At that time, Alveah was under a political struggle between three powerful kingdoms: Cervil, Lumra, and Trillum. Each of them was trying to claim an ancient ruin their archeologists found at the borders of each of their territories. Unfortunately, it was hard to determine who owned it because the ruins' location was equally divided among these kingdoms.

The leader of the Lumra Kingdom was a woman who was said to have killed her blood relative to get the throne. She was made out to be a ruthless ruler; however, when Kyran met her in person, he found her to be a very reasonable and even intelligent leader.

The Lumra's current leader's contradicting persona piqued Kyran's interest, and he investigated the truth behind her so-called ruthlessness.

As it turned out, the Lumra Kingdom's previous First Princess was a promiscuous woman who changed hand maids frequently because they 'disappear' too often.

However, when one handmaid who was reported to have been missing appeared suddenly while looking disheveled and almost half-dead, the truth about the disappearance of the handmaid was revealed.

The handmaids were actually tortured and were drained of their blood which the First Princess would 'drink' to ensure she remained vibrant and youthful.

Most of the kingdom's citizens were left aghast by the truth, and a revolution followed.

One after another, the truth about the Lumra Kingdom's Royal Family came to light. It was also found that the First Princess was actually a twin. But because the King feared having two princesses would result in an internal conflict when the time to choose the next ruler, he disposed of the younger twin.

But during the revolution, it was revealed that the twin sister was still alive.

The people who initiated the revolution managed to find her and even convinced her to overthrow the whole Royal Family.

To make the story short, the unwanted twin led the revolution and won, becoming the new ruler of the Lumra Kingdom.

After discovering this story, Kyran recalled how Nolan said that Cyneah looked so much like the Crown Princess.

Then, he began to wonder if Cyneah was like the Lumra Kingdom's new ruler: an unwanted 'daughter' of the Royal Family that might cause internal conflict within them.

Kyran dismissed the thought at once since he had not yet met the Crown Princess and only had Nolan's words— which usually could not be trusted, to rely on.

Looking at the Empress with the Emperor, Kyran remembered how Cyneah always mentioned her mother but never a father.

Kyran knew the Empress was not the Crown Princess's maternal mother and that the previous Empress died after ensuring the Crown Princess recovered from the curse inflicted on her by the Spirit that attacked her.

But after meeting Cyneah and remembering the story of the Lumra Kingdom's new ruler, questions began to swirl around Kyran's head.

What if the previous Empress never died? What if… the Crown Princess, or at least Haylee, was not the one who received the curse? What if it had been Cyneah all along, and the Empress left to find a cure for her? No, what if the Emperor himself tried to dispose of Cyneah? Since a 'damaged' princess was not needed, and the previous Empress did not like it? Thus, they were 'disposed of' together?

"Someone took her eyes…. Each great magic corresponds to a human body part… Soul corresponds to the eyes. If someone took her eyes, it meant someone took her magic."

Zephyr's words surfaced in Kyran's mind, and he could not help but wonder whether the Spirit's curse had something to do with 'taking her eyes.'

Kyran immediately pushed all these questions to the back of his mind as a terrible headache threatened to overcome his senses.

He did not have the time to think about this at the moment but knew he would eventually need to find the answers because  his intuitions were telling him that he was onto something. And that something might even help him improve his chances of overthrowing the Royal Family.

Kyran closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

He initially did not want to overthrow the Royal Family because his only target had been the Royal Army.

But after returning and finding out a lot had changed in the Ylfaen Empire after only being away for one week in real-time, he had to shift his target to the Royal Family.

Doing so would mean overthrowing them.

Silas and Gage thought Kyran's plan was ambitious when they first heard of it, and at that time, he was only targeting the Royal Army. He wondered what the two of them would think if they found out their target was now the Royal Family.

"The Material Gathering will commence in fifteen minutes."

A male announcer from the Courtenay Family announced, snapping Kyran out of his reverie.

He opened his eyes and looked at the projection but stopped short when a soft, gentle voice spoke in his head.

[Won't you join us for a tea after your event in the afternoon?]

Kyran's brown furrowed. He was unfamiliar with the voice speaking in his head but had an idea of who it belonged to.

His eyes drifted to the right, and as expected, the Empress was looking at him with a gentle smile.

[Don't worry. I only want to talk to you in person. My husband and daughter talked a lot about you, and I became interested in meeting you.]

Kyran had the urge to tell her off but refrained from doing so. After all, his mage level was supposed to be only at the 'Master' level, and telepathy was something he was not supposed to know.

Besides, even if the Empress appeared to be asking his permission to join her, he had a feeling he was not allowed to refuse.

Taking a deep breath, Kyran slightly nodded in confirmation.

There was no harm in talking to her.

No, actually, this might be a trap, but Kyran had been expecting something like this to happen. Albeit, he had thought it would be the Emperor or the Crown Princess who would ask him.

The Empress smiled; the corner of her eyes creased slightly, giving her a more amiable appearance, like a loving mother smiling at her child.

Kyran looked away at once, trying his best not to show how much his emotions were suddenly stirred by that smile. He did not want to admit it, but the Empress's smile made him remember his mother.

'If this is a trap, it's working,' Kyran thought with a wry smile.

While others did not notice the exchange between Kyran and the Empress, some people did.

One was Euan, but as Iulia's husband, he already knew her intentions of asking Kyran for tea and did not oppose it. Having her talk to Kyran might help change the latter's perspective on working with the Royal Family.

Another person was the Lumley Family's coach with the five members who fought Kyran yesterday. Because he was wearing a mask, it was unknown what he was thinking. But it was definitely not a good one, knowing Kyran's current relationship with their family.

The next person who noticed the exchange was from the Courtenay Family. A young woman who seemed to have her eyes glued on Kyran wherever he went, Millie. Her expression turned dark, but it was only for a split second that none of the Courtenay Family members with her saw it. But that look, Kyran would have recognized if he had seen it. It was the same look she gave him back in military school when she coldly called him a traitor and that he should just drop dead.

Finally, the last person who saw this was the same person with whom Kyran had exchanged a greeting earlier; the long-haired man in the Montgomeray Family. Under the man's mask, his dark violet eyes glinted.